A Novel by J.C. White

The town is small. The rules are ancient. The heat; it’s personal.

IT’S 1942. THE WAR IS LOUD—BUT IN A SMALL SOUTHERN TOWN IN TENNESSEE, THE QUIETER CRUELTY IS FAR WORSE.

Shirley Ragland is fifteen, brilliant, restless, and trapped in a world that thinks smart girls should marry quietly and disappear politely. This is Southern Gothic where the heat watches, the storm clouds keep receipts, and every smile hides a rule you were never allowed to break.

She’s not trying to be a hero.
She’s trying to get to know who she is, and survive her own self-awakening. The novel is based on a true story.

Tropes/vibes: small-town secrets • “girlhood as a cage” • oppressive heat • coming of age • memory-haunted setting • quiet rebellion • based on a true story

If you like: lyrical Southern stories + emotional gut-punches + gothic atmosphere.

For fans of: The Little Friend (Donna Tartt); Kindred (Octavia E. Butler); Mudbound (Hillary Jordan); and, For Lamb (Lesa Cline-Ransome)

Available: Amazon and Ingram Spark